What's your weather currently?

[J N Winkler]

Currently —8°F, with some extra flurries this morning just for fun.  The car barely started this morning, and I'm considering disconnecting the battery after work to bring it inside overnight.  Tonight's low is forecast to be —11°F.

Actual low for this morning:  -16° F.

Did you take the battery inside?

No, I didn't.  I suspected that yesterday morning's hard start was in part due to the fact that, on Sunday, I had started the car to move it off the driveway during shoveling, then started it to put it back in the driveway later.  Thus, I had drained the battery some but not driven anywhere to allow the alternator to recharge it.  And sure enough, starting the car this morning was no more difficult than yesterday.  Though, I did tell my boss there was a possibility it wouldn't start for me.

I have found that letting the battery sit on a maintainer takes away a lot of the worry associated with cold starts.  Admittedly, this is easier to do when the car is garaged.

My Saturn has started without trouble, but the motorized seatbelts really don't like the cold.  The little belt mouse that scurries in its track in summer has slowed down to a lethargic crawl in these subzero temperatures.

As an aside...  Living without the side streets being plowed means our driveways are never blocked by the shove-off from the snowplow.  Turning into your driveway at speed in order to barrel through–that isn't a thing here.

If I am shoveling a driveway clear to the bottom of the apron, I also shovel the gutter across the driveway opening and for a few feet on either side.  Then I cut into the spoil heaps on both ends of the windrow and tip them onto the lawn.  This gives me a length of gutter a few feet on either side of our curbside mailbox where water will not pond and I can keep my feet dry while fetching the mail.

In the past I used also to cut a bevel from bare pavement in the gutter to the near edge of compacted snow in the street.  I don't bother with this nicety anymore, because I have discovered our cars aren't really blocked when backing out as long as the gutter is down to bare pavement.

While I love the sunshine today and am looking forward to warmer temps, I'm afraid now the snow will begin to melt and re-freeze.

I liked the sunshine too.

I went out today for a meeting, which was my first time on the road since the heavy snow arrived.  Because it has been powder all the way, there was just snowpack on the side streets and melt on the arterials, so I could not get the ABS to fire even with fairly heavy braking, or find a patch of ice suitable for triggering traction control.

I also shoveled a driveway that still had virgin snow.  It was in unblocked sunshine, so the thin film of snow left by the shovel was melting almost instantly and drying about ten to fifteen feet behind me, even though it was 5° F at the time.  I almost overheated in my parka despite not having the hood up, which surprised me since yesterday and the day before I'd felt just barely warm enough with the hood up under overcast skies (some of the difference presumably came from wind out of the north and temperatures up to ten degrees cooler).

I'm afraid it's going to be a big slushy mess for three days or so once temperatures go above freezing this Saturday.

I've known for years now that this is how many places out west handle snow, and yet it still seems absurd to me that side streets simply don't get plowed. We got about 3 inches of new snow last night topped with an icy mix, and the plow came by at least twice: Once last night around 10 PM, and once in the early morning. The main roads, meanwhile, were basically clear by morning commute. I'd bet the plow had been down most of them at least 3-4 times between sunset and sunrise.

I think much of the difference may be accounted for by spacing between snowstorms.  Generally speaking, we don't usually have snow staying on the ground for days or even weeks between storms, so the side streets are effectively self-clearing.  When we had snow linger in 2013 and 2014, the resulting driving conditions on the side streets were so bad I was shoveling intersection throats essentially to backfill the lack of snowplowing.

[cjk374]

6:30 a.m.

2/17/21

21°

A wintry mix is falling, and it looks like that will be the trend all day long. Still have a few inches of snow on the ground from Monday's storm. The roads are slicker than owl shit. I am hoping we don't get any damaging ice.

[Bruce]

Already back up to the 40s here, but the snow is going to take a bit longer to melt.

[webny99]

I've known for years now that this is how many places out west handle snow, and yet it still seems absurd to me that side streets simply don't get plowed. We got about 3 inches of new snow last night topped with an icy mix, and the plow came by at least twice: Once last night around 10 PM, and once in the early morning. The main roads, meanwhile, were basically clear by morning commute. I'd bet the plow had been down most of them at least 3-4 times between sunset and sunrise.

I think much of the difference may be accounted for by spacing between snowstorms.  Generally speaking, we don't usually have snow staying on the ground for days or even weeks between storms, so the side streets are effectively self-clearing.  When we had snow linger in 2013 and 2014, the resulting driving conditions on the side streets were so bad I was shoveling intersection throats essentially to backfill the lack of snowplowing.

That's a good point. The frequency of snowfall we get here is somewhat unique to the Great Lakes region, especially compared to the Great Plains where it's much drier. While freeze-thaw cycles are common, snow often falls on back to back nights, and sometimes on as many as a dozen consecutive days. It's unpredictable at best, but we certainly couldn't count on snow melting or turning to hard pack before another or several more snows arrived.

[snowc]

flash flood watch in effect for our area.
rain and freezing rain toward north (rain here). other than that its gonna be that kind of a day. 

[TravelingBethelite]

More snow here today, with temperatures approaching 20. Still sounds cold, but a drastic improvement from Monday when we didn't even crack 0. We look to finally beat freezing on Saturday with a forecast high of 37. A warming trend continues through the start of next week, possible even back above average with a glorious forecast high of 53(!) next Tuesday.

[jemacedo9]

Major streets are either un-slippery snow pack or else sanded/salted.  Side streets remain unplowed, but this snow gives plenty of traction.

I have never known a time when Wichita has plowed side streets, though some suburbs (e.g., Bel Aire) do.

I've known for years now that this is how many places out west handle snow, and yet it still seems absurd to me that side streets simply don't get plowed. We got about 3 inches of new snow last night topped with an icy mix, and the plow came by at least twice: Once last night around 10 PM, and once in the early morning. The main roads, meanwhile, were basically clear by morning commute. I'd bet the plow had been down most of them at least 3-4 times between sunset and sunrise.

It's a question of manpower, and available equipment, and inevitably, of snow removal budgets. 
After growing up in SE PA until my mid-30s, I lived in Rochester for 10 years, and the difference is night and day.  WNY just throws more resources at it...and so they are much much better at it.

[jakeroot]

Already back up to the 40s here, but the snow is going to take a bit longer to melt.

I think the north ended up with more snow. It all melted here by yesterday, with only plowed piles remaining.

[Bruce]

Already back up to the 40s here, but the snow is going to take a bit longer to melt.

I think the north ended up with more snow. It all melted here by yesterday, with only plowed piles remaining.

It was around 11 inches total in Everett, but we were expecting to get less than the South Sound.

[Roadgeekteen]

around 30 and sunny

[hotdogPi]

around 30 and sunny

Which time zone are you in right now?

[Roadgeekteen]

around 30 and sunny

Which time zone are you in right now?

Um est why. It's 26 now, was a high of 32.

[hotdogPi]

around 30 and sunny

Which time zone are you in right now?

Um est why. It's 26 now, was a high of 32.

It's not sunny if it's dark.

[Roadgeekteen]

around 30 and sunny

Which time zone are you in right now?

Um est why. It's 26 now, was a high of 32.

It's not sunny if it's dark.

oh it was sunny when it was light out. It's clear now.

[CoreySamson]

Hey I'm back online after my brief disappearance. The power's been out and it's crazy.

First off, Monday morning my house got about half an inch of snow or so, but it looked really weird because sleet and freezing rain stuck to the driveway and the roads, causing the snow to stick to it as well, leaving the roads as white as a sheet and the grass semi-covered in it. That looked odd. Also the power went out on Monday morning and only came on for 30 minutes over the next 33 hours. It's been on since.

We smashed our previous low record for President's day at 15 degrees (the previous record was 30), and a tiny bit of snow is still hanging around on the rooftops and in the flowerbeds.

Luckily our pipes haven't burst, but the city water is down, which means I'll probably have to squat outside to take a poopy.

[jakeroot]

Already back up to the 40s here, but the snow is going to take a bit longer to melt.

I think the north ended up with more snow. It all melted here by yesterday, with only plowed piles remaining.

It was around 11 inches total in Everett, but we were expecting to get less than the South Sound.

I wonder when most of that fell? Seems like most of the snow in Tacoma came in Friday into Saturday, with another bit Sunday morning.

I think we had about 7 inches here downtown Tacoma.

[snowc]

Hey I'm back online after my brief disappearance. The power's been out and it's crazy.

First off, Monday morning my house got about half an inch of snow or so, but it looked really weird because sleet and freezing rain stuck to the driveway and the roads, causing the snow to stick to it as well, leaving the roads as white as a sheet and the grass semi-covered in it. That looked odd. Also the power went out on Monday morning and only came on for 30 minutes over the next 33 hours. It's been on since.

We smashed our previous low record for President's day at 15 degrees (the previous record was 30), and a tiny bit of snow is still hanging around on the rooftops and in the flowerbeds.

Luckily our pipes haven't burst, but the city water is down, which means I'll probably have to squat outside to take a poopy.

Oh lord.  Looks like NC is getting hit even harder than we thought. 1million outages expected, especially toward the northern part of the state. 

[cjk374]

We still have several inches of ice & snow frozen solid on the ground here in north Louisiana. I-20 westbound is a parking lot. People are driving like crazy jackasses by my house. As of 7 p.m. yesterday, my town has no water due to a power outage where the pumps & watertower are located.

Good times. 

[Mark68]

Monday, it got into the forties after being below freezing from Friday afternoon through the weekend, including below 10 from Friday night through Monday afternoon. Lows were around zero Saturday morning, below zero Sunday morning and round ten below Monday morning.

We were on the western edge of that cold air mass. It could have been worse. Wind chills over the weekend were around 20 below.

It snowed overnight last night (about 2" or so, making it about a half foot since Friday), and it's 34 now and partly cloudy.

[US71]

33 and sunny. Supposed to get down to +8 overnight.

[Roadgeekteen]

30 and snowing

[kphoger]

With the plentiful sunshine lately, I was saddened to see so much of the snow gone already while driving home.  But then I turned into my neighborhood, where the streets are still snow-packed and the lawns are still covered in white.

Today was the first morning in a week that the temperature was above 10°F.



Also...

Ah, life on the Great Plains:

—16°F = last Tuesday's actual low
+60°F = this Tuesday's forecast high

[ET21]

One more snowstorm Sunday and then the thaw begins

[Scott5114]

A pretty impressive turnaround starting today.


50s on Monday. For comparison, a week before, there was a high of 4° and low of —6°.

[CtrlAltDel]

One more snowstorm Sunday and then the thaw begins

It's going to snow again !?!

I hate winter. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I should never have left southern California.